5 series to binge-watch during the lockdown
With the coronavirus spreading all over the world, science-fiction has finally become reality: most of us are working from home or helping their children with the homework and we’re all trying to deal with this new stressful condition. The lockdown forces us watch the spring blooming from our windows and we need to find some distractions not to think about what’s happening, at least for a few hours. It’s really hard to get used to this situation, but there’s one good thing about this quarantine: we have more time for ourselves.
I thought it might be good to share some of my favorite things to do during the lockdown and I hope this will help you to get through this difficult times.
This is the first part of a longer guide that I’ve called “Quarantine Survival Kit”: today, I want to introduce you to 5 TV shows that caught my attention. I don’t know if you know them all but, if you don’t, I hope you enjoy watching them as much as I did.
The Affair (2014-2019)
Genre: Comedy-drama
Created by: Sarah Treem and Hagai Levi
Cast: Dominic West, Ruth Wilson, Maura Tierney and Joshua Jackson
Original Network: Showtime Now on: Sky (Italy)*
This is a very famous series in the U.S. but, somehow, it’s still not very popular in Europe. The Affair explores extramarital relationships through the eyes of four characters: Noah and Helen, a middle-aged couple with grown-up children, and Alison and Cole, a young couple who lost a child. Every episode of The Affair is usually separated into two or more parts, each one narrating the events from the point of view of a specific character. If you haven’t watched it yet, do it: it will make you laugh, cry and yell at the screen, but it’s one of those shows you won’t forget. The Affair ran for 5 seasons and it had its finale in November 2019.
Fleabag (2016-2019)
Genre: Comedy-drama
Created by: Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Cast: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Sian Clifford, Olivia Colman, Bill Paterson, Andrew Scott
Original Network: BBC Three Now on: Amazon Prime Video
If you don’t know who Phoebe Waller-Bridge is, you’re probably living on Mars: UK’s Golden Girl is a brilliant actress, producer and an incredibly talented screenwriter. She’s the woman behind Killing Eve and one of the writers of the upcoming Bond 25 but, most of all, she’s the creator of Fleabag. The series is based on her one-woman play of the same name and Waller-Bridge stars in both versions as Fleabag, an independent and sexually active young woman living in London. Fleabag is also disenchanted and confused, that’s why she finds it hard to build healthy relationships with the people around her and the men she likes. The show explores relationships between adults in a clever, funny, shocking and extremely real way. You might not fully relate to the female protagonist, but you will understand what moves her. Fleabag received widespread acclaim winning 1 BAFTA, 6 Emmy Awards and 1 Golden Globe. It ran for only two (but intense) seasons, now available on Prime Video.
Goliath (2016- running)
Genre: Legal drama
Created by: David E. Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro
Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, William Hurt, Nina Arianda, Tanya Raymonde
Original Network: Amazon Prime Video
Goliath is not a classic legal drama: the show follows Billy McBride, a down-and-out lawyer who lives in an extended-stay hotel. He had a brilliant career in a successful legal firm that he co-founded with Donald Cooperman, but he left his job after a murder suspect he got acquitted on a technicality went to kill an entire family. From the experience with Cooperman, McBride learned that justice is often at the service of powerful people, but he wants to change the game. With the help of a DUI (Driving Under the Influence) lawyer and a prostitute/legal assistant, Billy starts following very unique cases as he seeks for redemption. After the success of the previous three seasons, Goliath has been renewed for a fourth and final series that will be released on Prime Video later this year.
Hunters (2020- tbc)
Genre: Crime drama
Created by: David Weil
Cast: Al Pacino, Logan Lerman, Kate Mulvany, Josh Radnor, Jerrika Hinton, Louis Ozawa
Original Network: Amazon Prime Video
What if, after the Second World War, some Nazi criminals relocated to the U.S. and started conspiring to create a Fourth Reich? Set in 1977, in New York City, Hunters follows Meyer Offerman (played by Al Pacino), a jewish philanthropist and Holocaust survivor who leads a diverse band of Nazi hunters who want to get justice for old and new victims and prevent racism-related crimes. The first season of the show was released on February 21, 2020, but it hasn’t officially been renewed for a second season yet.
Kidding (2019- tbc)
Genre: Comedy-drama
Created by: Dave Holstein
Cast: Jim Carrey, Frank Langella, Judy Greer, Cole Allen
Original Network: Showtime Now on: Sky (Italy)*
I have to thank one of my friends for this recent discovery: Kidding is one of the bravest series I’ve seen on TV. Jim Carrey masterfully plays Jeff Piccirillo, a.k.a. Mr. Pickles, a television presenter who hosts a colorful kids show, full of songs and stuffed animals. As he faces a personal tragedy, his life and family relationships change, impacting his show as well. Will his audience be ready for the new Mr. Pickles? Kidding gives us the urban poetry we need in these difficult times we’re living. The second season premiered on Showtime in February, with the last episode airing on March 8, 2020. At the moment we have no news about the renewal of the show.
*Check your local distributor.
